New York, New Life
by McCountryGirl
Summary: Leo Valdez never stayed with one family very long. That is, until he was adopted by the Jacksons. He and Percy became fast friends. Follow their adventure as they learn about demigods, and why they shouldn't get along. Will they still be friends? Or will their warring elements keep them apart? Slightly AU, before TLT, until MoA.


**A/N: I can't sleep, so, new story!**

**Leo: Where am I?**

**Me: In my mind, dear Leo.**

**Leo: Uh, are you high or something?**

**Me: Nope. Just awake past midnight! The moon is my friend!**

**Leo: Oh-kay.**

**Me: Leo dearest, do the disclaimer or I tie a brick to your fooot andd toss you in the Hudson.**

**Leo: McCountryGirl is a thirteen year old Canadian girl, not Rick Riordan. She owns nothing. **

**Me: Thank you Leo. Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?**

**New York, New Life**

Hey, name's Leo Valdez. I'm nine years old. I grew up in Texas with my mother, Esperanza, and my crazy babysitter, Tia Callida. My mom was killed when I was eight when her machine shop caught on fire. I've bounced around in foster care the last couple years.

I spent three months in Alexandria, Virginia with a nice boat builder with silver hair.

I spent two in Miami, Florida with a nice cop with orange hair.

I spent four in Santa Barbra, California with a nice man with black hair who always poloshed a gun.

I spent six in Texas with a big family with lots of grown children.

I even spent five months in Vegas with a nice white haired guy and his granddaughter.

Now, I'm on a train to Manhatten, New York to meet a nice family who wants to adopt me. They have a boy my age. He's an ADHD/dyslexic kid like me, too. I hope he likes me. I tend to run from things.

I ran from the nice man in Virginia because of the strange people who were always at his house.

I ran from Miami because the man spent his nights crying over his brother, who died a cop's death.

I ran from Santa Barbra, because, frankly, the guy scared me. He had more guns than a Texan.

I ran from Texas because I was too close to where my mom died.

I ran from Vegas because I didn't like it there. I was alone.

I hope the little boy and his family like the little boy who lost his mom.

The train finally stopped at the Manhatten station and a social worker led me off the train. We took a cab to a nice little apartment on the Upper East Side. She knocked on the door and a pretty woman with curly brown hair and green eyes answered it.

"Hi. I'm Sally. You must be Leo." she told me. I nodded. I don't like new people. Sally talked to the social worker for a while before we went inside. The apartment was small but pretty. The walls were a creamy white colour, like sand. The carpet was a colour similar to water. Rich, dark blue. There was a white couch in the livingroom with a little boy napping on it. He had shaggy black hair and was wearing jeans and an oversized green t-shirt. He was drooling. I tried not to laugh at the sight or cry because I would eventually leave the boy.

"Percy, wake up. Leo's here." Sally told the boy, patting his shoulder. The boy stirred awake and I could see his eyes. They were the colour of the sea, stunning, deep green. Percy. His name was Percy.

"Hi Leo. M'name's Percy." the boy dazed, obviously tired.

"Hi Percy." I replied shyly. Percy grabbed my shoulder and led me to a room down the hall. The walls were a pretty ocean blue colour and the floor was wooden. The bed was a simple wooden bunkbed set. The window overlooked Manhatten.

"You have a nice room, Percy." I complimented.

"We have a nice room. It's your room too, silly." Percy told me. I did something really weird next. I hugged Percy.

"Hermano." I whispered. "Brother."

Percy smiled. He told me he never had a brother either. After the social worker left, we played poker, betting with jellybeans, pretzels and animal crackers. I won every time. My mom taught me poker when I was six. We would play with nuts, bolts, drill heads and screws. After playing for a while, Gabe came home. Gabe was Percy's stepdad.

"Sally! Do we have any beer?" he yelled, dropping onto the couch.

"One minute, Gabe. I'm doing the laundry!" Sally called. Gabe grunted and fixed his gaze on Percy.

"Shrimp, come here." he sneered. Percy carefully got up and walked over to Gabe.

"Get me a beer and some pretzels, Shrimp." Gabe ordered. Percy sadly complied and headed for the kitchen. He returned with a six-pack and a big bag of crunchy pretzels. He gave them to Gabe. Gabe's huge, meaty hand reached out for the food and grasped it. His other hand grabbed Percy's hair, yanking on it.

"Now Shrimp, no friends. Got it?" he sneered. Percy nodded, coming back over to me. He took my hand and led me to our room.

"Percy, why do you let him do that?" I asked.

"Because if I don't, he gets worse." Percy whispered. I could see a few old bruises on his face, just under his hairline. My vision got clouded, and I smelt smoke.

"L-leo, your nose is on f-fire!" Percy shrieked. I panaicked. The last time something like this happened, I lost my favourite drawing and burned handprints into a picnic table. I unclenched my fists and patted out my nose.

"Sorry. When I get made, that just happens. I don't exactly know why." I explained.

"Once, when I got angry, a water fountain exploded." Percy explained. We sat in silence for a while. We were both weird kids. No doubt.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\Time Skip-Two Years/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Percy and I had just started at a new school. I lasted longer with this family than any other. I liked Percy and Sally, but Gabe hated me. Anyway, Yancy seemed like a nice school. We got to share a dorm with a bearded guy named Grover. He was pretty awesome. Our first class was English with Mr. Niccol. Percy and I had always been bad in English because of our dyslexia. Mr. Niccol was talking about 'Flyte' by Angie Sage, and how the book is unrealistic and fantastical and how wizards and necromancers don't exist. I had zoned out, because Sally read Percy and I that book a few weeks ago, after finishing 'Magyk', the first book. Septimus Heap was a cool guy, but he was seperated from his family and replaced by a princess. Poor kid. He nearly froze in the snow because of the Young People's Army.

After English was Pre-Algebra. They had Mrs. Alazander, a really nice lady with cherry red lips and caramel brown hair with golden brown eyes. She was skittish and nervous, like she was gonna go crazy. We were talking about variables, and about how they could be a letter or a picture. I was too busy drawing plans for a listening devices for me and Percy so we could hear Gabe's thoughts. We wanted to know what he thought of us. The plan was simple. While he was sleeping, we'd slip the thing around his neck and press power. Whatever he was thinking would broadcast out the speakers loudly.

Algerbra was followed by Latin. We had Mrs. Bambi, a skinny brunette with big, sad brown eyes. Conjugating Latin verbs was torture to a dyslexic kid. Absolute torture.

After school, we crashed in our dorm with our other roommate, Grover Underwood, who was probably held back a few grades, because he had a beard. We talked about nothing in particular, and laughed like we were nine again. Sleep that night was blissful, because I didn't have any dreams about my mother, Tia Callida or the weird lady who killed my mother.

**A/N: What do you think? Do you like it? Hate it? Want more? Think I shouldn't continue? Leave your opinion in the reviews! I would totally appreciate it!**


End file.
